Understanding Traditional British Pubnames Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which of these pub names is the only one without a connection to the production of textiles?

Answer: Coopers Arms

Coopers were those who made and repaired barrels and tubs. Mercers were dealers in textiles, especially silks and other costly materials. Fullers clean and thicken freshly woven cloth. Dyers colour it by dipping it in liquid. There is no link between Mercers and Mercia.

2. Which of these is the only one that has no connection with 'the military'?

Answer: Cordwainers Arms

Fletchers fit the feathers to an arrow. They are makers and dealers in arrows. Bowyers were makers of and traders in bows. Occasionally the term bowyer was even equivalent to bowman or archer. Cordwainers were NOT in the medieval arms industry. Cordwain was a certain quality of leather that came from Cordoba in Spain. Cordwainers were the leatherworkers who turned it into shoes.

Their arms show the heads of three goats, probably because goat leather was the best quality in the market.

3. Some pub names might get you on a completely wrong track. Fortunately there is usually the pub sign to guide your imagination. What might the name 'The Free Butt' actually refer to?

Answer: a quantity of ale

It's usually the pub signs that make clear what interpretation must be given to a certain 'traditional' pubname. Cigarette stubs were not very likely in 'olden times'.

4. What connection is there between a pub with the name the 'Royal Oak' and Charles II ?

Answer: Charles the II kept hidden for half a day in an oak to save his life from Cromwellian pursuers

The Royal Oak pubsigns started popping up in the period of the Restoration when people were free again to express their allegiance to the monarch. Strength of character is not a likely association for a King who left behind some 14 illegitimate children.

5. Which of these pub signs is the only one NOT to refer to any of the hierarchical functions or traditional symbols of the Roman-Catholic Church ?

Answer: Pope's Grotto

The Cardinal's Cap in the Southwark area referred to Cardinal Wolsey himself and was a place of ill-repute. A Mitre is what was worn by bishops and abbots. In one particular case, at Tonbridge, the pubname exceptionally seems to be a corruption for Martyr as it is near to the church of King Charles the Martyr. Cross Keys (= Crossed Keys) appear in the papal arms and also in the arms of the bishops of Exeter, Gloucester, Peterborough, Ripon and St. Asaph.

In Christian heraldry they refer to words spoken by Jesus to Saint Peter: 'I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven'. Pope's Grotto (not THE Pope's Grotto ..) at Twickenham refers to Alexander Pope (1688-1744) who lived there for 25 years. Apart from writing and translating poetry Pope also was involved in laying out his garden. To him his 'garden grotto' was some kind of sacred place as he mentions in 'Verses on a Grotto by the River Thames' at Twickenham, composed of Marbles, Spars and Minerals.'

6. What profession does the pubname 'The Jolly Tar' refer to?

Answer: a sailor

Compare Jack Tar. There was also a pubname the Jolly Sailor. For obvious reasons both names were very popular in coastal towns. Often they referred to retired sailors who had become publicans. Sailors were probably called 'tars' because they worked with tarpaulins or tarred canvas.

In Smollett 'a tarpaulin' is used as a name for 'a sailor'(Skeat in Dictionary of English Etymology). Another explanation is that they used tar to set their hair into a hard pigtail.

7. The pub name the Cock and Bottle does not necessarily refer to the male partner of some hens. What other reading is perfectly possible?

Answer: refers to a spigot or peg which is used to draw off beer from a barrel

Such a sign traditionally proclaimed that both draught and bottled beer was available.

8. A particular Scottish pub is named 'The Silver Tassie', which refers to a line from Robert Burns. What kind of 'Tassie' did Burns have in mind?

Answer: a silver cup

Burns has a line: 'Ye'll bring me here a pint of wine, A server and a silver tassie.'. The word also occurs in Sir Walter Scott's 'Rob Roy' and more generally in Scottish local speech. Neeps and tatties are a traditional accompaniment of haggis, but they are not served in tassies.

9. What might the word 'crutched' mean in a pubname like 'The Old Crutched Friars'?

Answer: wearing a cross on their friars' habit

Crutch and crotch are etymologically related to 'cross-shaped'. The pubsign in this case shows two monks wearing red crosses on their breasts. There is no link with 'friars' having to lean on 'crutches'.

10. The Dog and Trumpet pub in London has a pubsign that shows Nipper, a fox-terrier listening to the sound issuing from a gramophone-horn. What is the name of the original record-company that this logo is a reference to?

Answer: The Gramophone Company

In actual fact various companies used the "His Master's Voice" logo, but the one which used it the very first was the Gramophone Company. See http://en.wikipedia.org.wiki/His_Master's_Voice. In London the 'Dog and Trumpet' pub name was created as late as 1973 when HMV celebrated its 75th anniversary. On that occasion the 'Marlborough Arms' in Central London rebaptised itself.

The first use of the 'dog-and-grammophone horn' logo had been already in 1909.The original painting was by Francis Barraud and now hangs in the boardroom of EMI Records. Later developments led to the logo being used by other companies as well. Among them: RCA Victor, EMI, JVC, Thomson and BMG.

Source: Author flem-ish

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LeoDaVinci before going online.
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Understanding Traditional British Pubnames Quiz

There is more in some traditional pubnames than meets the eye. They may refer to a local incident, a lost tradition or may have a completely different meaning than a modern mind would think of. See for yourself how transparent the following names are.

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